Never Give Up Hope
by Kristen3
Summary: Set after 4.2, "White Out." While babystting Prince Neal, Elsa and Emma realize that, despite growing up in different worlds, their lives haven't been that different. One-shot.


Emma looked down into the crib and smiled. After having no family for most of her life, it had taken awhile to get used to the idea of having a sibling all of a sudden. But baby Neal was certainly hard to resist. Of course, she sometimes had to push away thoughts of the first Neal when she looked at him, but she hoped that would fade with time. Right now, the young prince was smiling up at her. "So, you want to play, huh?" She reached down and picked him up, amazed at how natural this felt. She never even got to hold Henry when he was born. Her parents were out right now, at a town hall meeting concerning the ice wall that surrounded Storybrooke. Since Mary Margaret was now somehow the town's leader, Emma was more than willing to babysit so her parents could attend to more important matters.

Neal had just learned the art of blowing raspberries, and he demonstrated his skill. Emma couldn't help laughing. But she looked up and noticed Elsa watching intently. "Would you like to hold him?"

Startled, Elsa shook her head. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Come on," Emma said, approaching her new friend. "One second won't hurt him." Before Elsa could protest, she'd been handed the infant.

Elsa's heart raced. _Conceal, don't feel_, she reminded herself. If ever there were a moment when she needed to control her powers, this was it. When it became clear that Neal wasn't in danger of frostbite, Elsa relaxed a bit. "When Anna and I were little, we were inseparable," she said. "She used to love to play in the snow...with my powers."

Emma's heart went out to Elsa. She could tell that recalling this wasn't easy. She didn't want her friend getting upset. "Look, he likes your dress," Emma said, pointing at how Neal was staring at the sequins on Elsa's outfit.

Elsa smiled nervously. Now that she'd gone this far in telling the truth, she might as well tell all of it. She thought Emma might understand. "One day, Anna and I were playing...and she fell."

Emma gently took her brother from Elsa's arms. "If you don't want to tell me all of this, I get it," she said. She knew more than anyone how painful some memories can be.

"I'm so far away from Arendelle. All I can think about is Anna. I have to find her."

"Don't worry," Emma said, returning Neal to his crib. "My dad will find her. It's sort of his thing."

"Anna wouldn't even have gone on her quest if it hadn't been for me. A lot of things would've been different for us if I didn't have these powers."

"I used to not want my powers, too. But I don't think it works that way," Emma said.

"My sister nearly died because of my magic. Twice." Elsa looked at the floor, the guilt as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

Emma sensed that Elsa needed to get this off her chest. "What happened?" she asked, leading her friend over to the couch.

"After Anna fell, our parents took her to see the trolls. They were the only ones who could fix her. They said my magic could be dangerous. They saved Anna's life, but they took away all her memories of my magic. After that, I barely even saw her." Elsa was near tears, remembering how Anna had stood near her bedroom door, begging her sister to come and build a snowman. "We were both lonely. I couldn't go near her for fear of hurting her. It was terrible."

Emma's heart broke as she heard the story. She thought she'd had a pretty bad childhood going from foster home to foster home. But apparently, even a "normal" family wasn't always so great.

"Then our parents died on a sea voyage. That's when things got worse. I became Queen long before I was ready. But my coronation ball was wonderful. Even Anna had a great time. She met this man, Hans, and he convinced her to marry him. That same night."

Emma certainly hadn't seen that coming. She knew love at first sight was kind of a big deal in the Enchanted Forest, but that wasn't the world Emma had grown up in.

"When Anna asked for my blessing to marry Hans, my emotions got a bit...out of control."

"It wasn't your fault," Emma said, seeing her friend's guilt. "I'm sure Anna knew that."

"Once my secret was out, I ran away. Left Arendelle for good. I obviously couldn't be around people anymore."

Emma thought of her own life before Henry showed up. Though she hadn't been surrounded by ice, it wasn't that different from Elsa's.

"Anna didn't give up on me. She risked her life to come after me. That's why I have to find her."

"Listen, a few years ago, I thought I was an orphan. I lived in Boston all alone, until Henry showed up at my door. He brought me here, and I ended up finding my family. It hasn't been easy, but it's been worth it."

Even in this strange land full of things she'd never seen before, Elsa knew Emma understood her. It was such a relief, after feeling like no one could possibly understand her.

"My parents are heroes," Emma said. "They've been through a lot worse than an ice wall, believe me." She didn't feel like telling Elsa every detail of the last few years, but she felt the need to at least give her friend some hope. "They're going to figure out how to take that wall down, and they're going to help you find Anna. I know it."

Elsa didn't know how Emma could have such faith. She hadn't had much experience with happy endings. In some ways, Emma reminded Elsa a bit of Anna. She'd never given up hope, either. "Thanks, Emma," Elsa said, suddenly squeezing her friend's hand. For so long, even something as simple as having someone to talk to had been out of the question. Perhaps this strange world wasn't so bad after all.

**The End**


End file.
